2001
No Space Odyssey for you or me...

Some how it does not seem quite right
This year has flown too fast
I was just getting a grip on it,
now it is slipping from my grasp
As for my future? Where exactly do I stand?
Seamstress? Performer? Writer? Artisté?
... Dreamer!?
But in 2001 I have lead a floating life
Living each day without thinking of the next
Treading water, managing to stay afloat
Dressed as pelican, blue chook and white bunny
Churned out tops for Do It Baby
Fought the good fight with the Esplanade Alliance
(Viva St.Kilda, my one true love)
Wondering patient when my time will come
Realising that living without hope
Does not mean living with despair...
Elsewhere in the world there are wars going on
But that is an old, old story, it has always been thus
What one tribe calls terrorism, another calls justice
But when a big small man says
"You are either with us or against!"
I wonder why it is such a crime
To keep dancing on my fence
Roll on 2002
Hit me with your worst and best
I know I can take it
Though I could do with a rest

But I like to think that
wisdom and sincerity
and a heart that is open and kind
are the indicators of a
truly successful life

In Memoriam

written 12 Sept 2002 - remembering the events of 11 Sept 2001

Innocent die everyday
at the hand of the machinations of those in power
the desperate turn to desperate means
there is blood on my hands
I can't wash it off
there is blood on my hands
because of the desperate cries I refused to hear
there is blood on my hands
but I choose to ignore
I have my own problems
this grief is too big for me

POEM FOR THE YEAR
2002

I don't really want to face this year
Or examine the year that has past
There is too much sadness
And anger in the world
I hear angry voices crying,
"We have to fight"
But I see myself
In the faces of frightened children
Who wonder what crime they committed
To deserve this blight
We need to cultivate compassion
in the drought ridden pastures of our hearts
None of us are innocent
Even if our only crime is ignorance

2003

You think it should get easier
That wisdom should light the way
But there are too many tears
Hidden by dark glasses
By scarves
By ironic quips
It is a Kafkaesque comedy
Caught in a labyrinth
Nobody takes responsibility
Everywhere
Silent desperation
Joy and beauty are so fleeting
Impossible to hold onto
Love and happiness
Always just out of reach
Comfort is always cold
So what can one poor soul do
Keep reaching
Keep trying
Keep feeling
Don't let the numbness take hold
Nurture compassion
Laugh at the joke
Even though the joke is on you

Remembering 2004
A New Year Beckons

In the beginning there was an idea
an inkling
a thought
a possibility

The idea became a plan
the idea confirmed
congratulated
commended

Ideas are good
I was told
The world needs ideas
fresh ideas
good
bad
indifferent
As long as they are new

But perhaps all I can do is
regurgitate
reiterate
revisit
renew
Drag out old forgotten ideas
call them my own

As the years wear our bodies down
may the light of inspiration
burn bright
and light our way

Bright Blessings To You
And All 2005 Might Bring

Remembering 2005
As the years dance on

Cicadas sing in another summer
grass is bleached blond
by an unremitting sun
getting ever hotter
all this tells me
that the end of yet another year
—2005—
is near, and I am still waiting.

It is one thing
to achieve excellence
quite another
to have excellence recognised
in a world that rewards mediocrity
small minds—small concepts
still dominate
and frustrate all who can see
the winds of history
that swirl around us
with a power greater
than any hurricane
flooding time
and tearing apart
the flawed walls of our civilisation

With all this fear
the only balm is love
though not the kind
you'll find in a Hallmark card
that departs when things
don't go according to plan

In 2006
may your heart be filled
with a love that is stronger
than any
disappointment
disagreement
or
despair
and may you never
be blind or deaf
to the love
that others have for you

Remembering 2006
a new year beckons

Each year seems to shorten by half
And the speeding express train
Doesn't always take you
Where you want to go
It is sometimes wise
To take the slower scenic route
Stop and appreciate the view
Take a good look around
Drink some wine
And have long rambling conversations
With friends or strangers
Life is for the living
So let the dead take care of their own
And dance the dance you know

Farewell 2007

What a year this has been . . .

A year of letting go

opening doors,
opening my heart,
to the possibility
of maybe

There is no certainty

no map,
no clear destination
in my mind

Simply a vague notion

a day dream,
a prayer that fate
will be kind

My dearest friends

The future is an unknown country
We must focus on the ever changing present
Someone much wiser than me once wrote
"The present is a gift"
That being true
I plan to take my time
Unwrapping it